The Climate of Arrakis in "Dune" by Frank Herbert

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The climate of a planet plays a significant role in determining how life presumes. In fact, a hot climate makes water so scarce, that saliva is valuable. In the novel Dune, Frank Herbert makes the climate of Arrakis so significant, that dead bodies are seen as a “water” source. The climate on the planet of Arrakis makes water less significant than blood, because water cannot exist without blood. Arrakis’s climate is also a plus, because the warriors that live there are much more adapted to it than anyone who was to invade to conquer. The planet of Arrakis is seen as a gold mine for mélange, because it has such a high potency of it, and the Fremen are pretty much in charge of it. This would then cause other “rivals” to try and conquer the planet for the “gold,” but there is home field advantage for the Fremen, because they train in the planets intense heat. What this leads to is that the harsh climate of Arrakis poses challenges to those who live there, because it drives the sandworms, mélange, and water.

First of all, the sandworms on the planet of Arrakis are important to the subjects on the planet for survival for a number of reasons. Arrakis is a planet that has a miserable climate for those who reside there. But the sandworms are seen as direct actions of God, because it creates mélange. Therefore, (among the Fremen) the sandworms have been given names such as “The Great Maker” and “The worm who is God.” These worms also have a reputation of living for thousands of years, and this leads to their names: “Old man of the desert,” and “grandfather of the desert.” These worms are not only a significant part of survival for the Fremen, but have adapted to the hot climate, and environment so well, they are virtually indestructibl...

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...lush green paradise that will soon still serve the Fremen for mélange, and fighting ground, or being conquered by the others in order to gain the planet of Arrakis. It’s the climate that determines how one lives, because of what distributes mélange, makes it, and drives the water “force.” Although the Fremen have the advantage of fighting on the planet of Arrakis, and Paul can ride sandworms, it is the climate that regulates all of this, because the climate makes or breaks precipitation,

and therefore causing the sandworms to live or die, and holding at stake the creation of mélange. The idea of a lush green paradise on Arrakis is farfetched.

Works Cited
Herbert, Frank. Dune. 1965. New York: Berkeley, 1977.

Herbert, Frank (1965).

Spark Notes Editors. “Spark Note on Dune.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2003. Web. 7 Dec. 2009.

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